A self-appointed bug in childhood, this woman now finds many a thing to have a beef with.
Really, though, it's the only alliterative title that I could live with at the time of blog conception. LoonieLizzie was too self deprecating; EccentricElizabeth had too many syllables.

Monday, January 31, 2011

1. He has been quoting Psalm 118:6 today, "The LORD is for me. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

2. He licked my deodorant today. Oh mercy! There are not words enough to describe how hilarious that was. For something that is supposed to reduce moisture, it sure made him drool and spit a lot. And sympathetic mom that I am, I laughed hysterically then immediately told on him. His head smelled sweet and fresh for hours!

3. He woke up about 5 minutes before I was done exercising. So I let him join me for the last five minutes of my pilates tape. He thought the lady leading the exercises was me. He kept saying, "That's mommy! That's you!" She is anywhere from a size 0 - size 2. Just the fact that he thought there was a possibility I could be compared to someone with a body fat composition of 5% is awesome.

Friday, January 28, 2011

There is an awesome two-story slide. We flew down it faster than greased lightning! Even with our camera on sports mode, everything was a blur. But I'm still gonna post pictures. You can see the smiles. And the blur lets you know how fast we were all bookin'.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.2 Corinthians 4:8-9

There is no baby. The woman lied about being pregnant. She lied about it being a girl. She lied about her due date. She lied about being in labor. She lied.

So here we lie.

We lie down in this field of pain, confused and overwhelmed. I have felt every possible emotion today. Many of them at the same time. These have been my states: Rage, betrayal, happiness, rejection, comforted, confused, tired, content, angry, hopeless, bitter, joyful and distracted.

I don't know how everything is going to shake out in the next few days. I know our arms remain empty. I also know, though, that God is good. And I'm not just saying that 'cuz He's reading over my shoulder. He really is good. Even through is. Especially through this. He had a path of comfort layed for us before we even stepped on the road of grief.

The day before our daughter died I was reminded that Scripture tells us that Jesus takes our pain personally. Whatever happens to us, happens to Him. He feels each sting. He sobs each tear. The moments before I received the crushing call I was listening to a message about God's comfort. As I hung up the phone I was immediately surrounded by sympathetic tears and hugs and prayers.

He really is good.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. Job 1:21
copyright (c) Elizabeth, Bug's Beef. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It's what came into my mind as I sat to write this quick, short update. But I chose BB for another reason. Tonight it stands for: breach baby.

Yes, our baby girl is standing in her birth mom's womb. Since she's not head-down, and since our birth mom's cervix isn't even slightly dilated, we aren't planning on meeting our daughter this week. The doctor spent an hour trying every possible way of coaxing her to flip. Since our birthmom is a smart cookie, she's not anxious to sign up for a c-section. But she also doesn't want to deliver a 9 pound baby in the breach position.

Yes, our darling daughter is already 9 pounds. Her older sister was 13 pounds at birth. We are all praying she doesn't try to catch up with her. But, the bigger she gets, the less likely she is to flip into a safe birthing position.

The doctor is planning on seeing her again next Monday. But there are a number of signs that she might go into labor before then. We'll see. . . I'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I knew adoption was arduous. And expensive. And a bit dangerous to the heart. I just didn't expect it to be quite this wild.

Last Thursday afternoon we were notified of a three month old baby girl that was being placed in an adoptive family. For many reasons we were terrified to accept her. But for many, many more reasons we were excited to parent her. Since our family profile needed to be delivered that evening, we had about two hours to make our decision. We did decide to be presented to the birth mom the next day. So a little family outing, as soon as Daddy got home, found us delivering our profile and drinking strawberry lemonade. The next day we found out the birth mom had chosen another family. We were a little bummed. But we had had less than 24 hours to get our hopes up. God guarded our hearts from being crushed.

So yesterday (Monday) morning I checked my email and found out about another birth mom who was choosing to place her child for adoption. Since we're getting pretty good at this, we made our decision in about 32 seconds. I told our coordinator that we wanted to be presented. So my right thumb got to movin' as I sent texts messages to all those who love us and pray. The birth mom was presented with profiles a few hours later. We heard last night, almost precisely 12 hours after I had checked my email, that the birth mom had chosen another family.

It kinda made me laugh. Of course she did! We're 0 for 4. We don't what we'll do with ourselves if a birth mom does chose us. Perhaps sit very, very still. When the truth sinks in, then we'll run, run, run like mad!

In case you're wondering, our hearts are in a very good place. Not because we're that mature. But because God is that nice. He is very kindly guarding us against sorrow, bitterness, outrage, rejection, etc. Thanks for your prayers.

I'm wondering if the next one we hear about will all happen within 6 hours. Or was the cutting time in half thing just for the last two? We'll see. . .